“It’s a circus right now in jiu-jitsu. We’re creating an actual professional platform for people,” Musumeci said before the Danis question was raised. “Anyone that complains about that, they just don’t have the best interest in mind for jiu-jitsu.”
Gadelha, who now serves as the senior director of jiu-jitsu strategy and business development for the UFC, didn’t mince words when asked if Danis could potentially join the UFC BJJ roster.
“I think Mikey just kind of answered that question when he said that we are not playing with circus here,” Gadelha stated bluntly, drawing a clear line between the professional platform they’re building and Danis’s reputation.
Unlike Gadelha, Danis was a superstar on the BJJ circuit before crossing paths with Conor McGregor and getting sucked into the UFC circus. Regardless of how you feel about Danis’ online antics he is a serious jiu-jitsu guy.
Gadelha put a real dent in the budget by casting a fresh new black belt with no accolades as a coach in Reirsson Gabriel.
The exchange came during a press conference featuring Gadelha alongside coaches Mikey Musumeci and Gabriel, who are preparing for the inaugural season of UFC BJJ Road to the Title.
This is a departure from the earlier assertions that UFC would help rid the sport of BJJ of PED abuse. Musumeci has been very vocal about wanting to clean up the sport yet this entire press conference served to rewrite history, hog credit for innovations that came from somewhere else and dismiss the fact that UFC is only interested in BJJ now because of the success so-called ‘circus’ is able to attract.
Gadelha explained that the competition will crown champions in different weight classes, including a bantamweight title between Musumeci and Gabriel.
“The lightweight champion of the finale of this reality TV show will become the first lightweight UFC BJJ champion, the welterweight, the same thing. And then Mikey and Reirsson fight for the first bantamweight title for UFC BJJ,” Gadelha explained.
The format appears similar to TUF, rules seem similar to CJI and the innovation and marketing is nowhere to be found. All we get are a new fake title and a regurgitated mess about rewriting history.
